The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-10-29
A NATURALIST ON THORNS.


1t is easier to keep out of trouble than
to get out of it. The truth of this as re-
CARDS both men and birds was illustrated
by recent adventure near the spring,
which had it's comical as well as serious
features. I saw,a purple grackle's nest
that had every appearance OF being sus-
pended in the tree top like an orioles
a position wholly out Of the rule. 1t was
too high up to let me solve the mystery
by viewing it from below; and to satisfy
laudable curiosity, resolved to climb
the tree.
Having done SO, I was well repaid for
the labor. The nest had beea displaced
by the wind, but had strangely lodged
between two nearly parallel branches,
which, however, held it only by it's rim
and threatened to let it fall at any mo-
ment. The poor birds which we're plain
ly in great distress, had vainly tried to
secure it anew, and had built up its
edges until they overlapped the support
ing limbs, but had not the skill to inter-
weave the new stuff with the old and
thus make one structure of it all. Their
intentions were good; the means adopted
to secure the desired result deplorably
bad. They were merely adding weight
above, when they required support be-
low. Many of our birds would have
been engineers equal to the emergency,
hrxf ha b II.
nest as secure as I could by drawing it
to where the space between the branches
was narrower and so gave it sufficient
support. The birds looked on approx
ingly and was we'll repaid by what L
imagined to be their grateful thanks.
1t now remained for me to descend,
and leave the birds in peace. I started to
do 80, when through some strange miscal-
culation, I failed to secure a. footing and
fell. have heard it remarked that there
is an art in falling. What one does when
spinning through the air for second or
less is not easily recalled, but the descent
seemed great deal longer than a minute.
can only be sure that started face
downward, and came to short stop with
the sun shining in my face. I was still
six feet from the ground, lying at full
length across the densest growth of smi-
lax on the farm. Now smilax has thorns,
fact that had never troubled me before;
and these resented my abrupt intrusion
by penetrating into and through my
clothes and beyond. Ihis may seem
trivial as you read it, but do not test the
matter. Accept my assurances that a
thorn to every square inch of ones back
and limbs is not trivial and when smilax
confronts you, go round and not through
it.
Perhaps those who have much to say
about reclining on beds OF roses have
never realized the accompaniment of
thorns. Here was upon bed of thorns
with no very rosy prospect Of getting
from it. There was a cat-bird bard by,
who looked at me for moment, laughed,
firted his contemptuous tail, and depart
ed. The gesture was irritating. Man
vaunts himself the climax of animal ore
alton; yet this saucy cat-bird could, with
out an effort, skip over the smilax, where
1 was helpless.
A happy thought struck me. would
crawl out of my clothes Alas that SEEM
ed only the beginning of a reduction
which would have no end, before 1 had
escaped from that piercing and clinging
smilax, short of having reduced myself to
a bare hard, skeleton; and feared would
never put myself together again. What
was to do? Planning on bed of thorns,
even il they do not prick us, is not an
exhilarating psstime. The surroundings
are not conducive to quick wittedness,
and the sunshine from above and mos
quitos from everywhere distract atten-
ton. The most feasible and natural
thing Of all occurred to me at the last of
long series,-to call for help.
/ combined the penetrstive elements of
shrek, yell, howl, and squeal, hoping
some receptive ear might recognize the
meaning. 1t startled the birds, and they
quickly came to see what manner of crea-
ture had happened into their midst. First,
OF course, came the tantalizing cat bird.
He investigated olosely,-too closely
and then contemplated me, perched with
in arms length OF my fist. His ultimate
conclusion was a spitetul ba-a. Every
robin and thrush of the whole hillside
came, and the volume of their united
voices in discussion brought the jays and
pair of crows.